The Best Saltwater Fishing Rigs for Boat Fishing

Unless you're a totally dedicated lure fisherman you're going to need
some saltwater fishing rigs for boat fishing - and there are a few to choose from. In fact,
although they continue to be refined, I'd bet there isn't a bottom
fishing scenario for which a suitable rig hasn't been designed.

Tying boat fishing rigs is a straightforward affair, providing you
follow a few simple rules and take care with the knots.

Hook patterns
and sizes will depend on the type of bait you intend to use, and the
species and size of fish you hope to catch.

Swivels must be up to the task expected of them; I would always go for crane swivels rather than the cheaper but less reliable barrel swivels.

If you're making up bottom rigs for large fish like conger eels that
spin like ballet dancers on steroids, then ball-bearing swivels are what
you need.

The rig body line and hook snoods will most likely be nylon
monofilament if you buy your bottom fishing rigs already made up, but if
you tie them yourself you've got the option of using the near-invisible fluorocarbon.

Ready-made saltwater fishing rigs are relatively cheap to buy, so
instead of making your own, you may decide to stock up from a trusted
on-line supplier.

Making Saltwater Fishing Rigs the Easy Way

But the best route in my view - and I don't see it as cheating - is
to get yourself a kit of rigging components (hooks, beads, swivels,
fluorocarbon line etc), buy a few professionally made-up bottom fishing
rigs to use as patterns, and simply copy them.

The ones shown here by Greys Sea Rigs have reputation for good quality,
and a real plus this, each one has a fully dimensioned sketch of the rig
in the packet.

The Flowing Trace; Basic Version

This is the simplest of all saltwater fishing rigs for boat anglers wanting to place their bait on the seabed.

The lead weight is attached to the link swivel which is free to run between the 2 other swivels which should be around 3 to 4 feet apart.

The Double Hook Flapper Rig; 1 Up, 1 Down

In this version of the flapper rig the lower hook snood is longer than the distance
between its attachment point and the lead link.

This ensures that the lower bait will be presented on the seabed, and
the other a short distance above it - hence 'one up' and 'one down'.

As with the 'two up' version you'd typically use this rig when boat fishing for cod, pollack, bream, whiting and dogfish.

Additionally, depending on the bait and hook size, you could be in line for a flatfish or a ray.

But it is a rig prone to tangling on the drop, so lower it slowly allowing the tide to stream out the lower snood away from the main reel line.

The Uptide Rigs

As its name suggests, this saltwater fishing rig is intended to be cast uptide and away
from the boat where the fish won't be spooked by the anchored boat
lurking above them.

A bow of slack line is allowed to form between the spiked lead and
the rod tip, leaving the terminal tackle streaming downtide of the lead.

The plastic boom, to which the spiked 'breakaway' lead is attached,
ensures that the hook length is kept clear of the bowed main line.

When a fish takes the bait, the lead breaks out of its hold on the
seabed and the whole shebang trundles off downtide. The line goes slack,
the rodtip springs free of the load applied by the tide. Time to harden up and - Strike!

This is a favourite rig for boat anglers targeting winter cod in the relatively shallow and cold waters of the North Sea. Brrr!

The Uptide Rigs; Pennel and Wishbone Versions

The two-hook pennel rigged version is for
presenting 'awkward' baits like a lengthy lugworm, king ragworm, whole
squid or a fillet of mackerel.

Unlike the pennel rig, where both hooks are in the same bait, the wishbone rig is for presenting two separate baits - perhaps a main course and a dessert?